Article Highlights

New MTC in Ghana, Africa, can now house 320 missionaries—and has room to grow.

The facility will be dedicated October 24, 2017.

ACCRA, GHANA

Built next to the Accra Ghana Temple with more than three and a half times the space of the previous missionary training center, the recently finished MTC in Ghana, Africa, can now house 320 missionaries—and has room to grow.

With an increasing number of Church members in Africa, Church leaders decided to build a larger MTC to accommodate missionaries leaving from west and southeast Africa, as well as missionaries from around the world who have been called to serve in Africa. The new buildings make it easier for missionaries to learn in their native language—English or French—and learn the language and culture of the area where they have been assigned to labor. The previous MTC—built in 2002 in Tema, Ghana—housed only 90 missionaries.

While on assignment visiting the area, Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Ruth L. Renlund, toured the new campus.

“As we walked through the halls and went into the classrooms, we sense already a real profound spirit that comes from those that have planned and built it,” Elder Renlund said in a Mormon Newsroom article. “It will be a phenomenal place for missionaries to learn about the Savior and to learn how to share His gospel.”

“I think as missionaries come here, the things that they learn, they will take with them forever,” Sister Renlund added. “Wherever their homes are, they will go and build the Church, always with this great foundation of what they learned here at the MTC.”

The new facility has similar design elements as the newly renovated MTC in Provo, Utah, and includes four buildings: a training building, a multipurpose building, a residence building, and a kitchen and dining hall. The design includes a lot of windows and open spaces, and there is enough room to expand in the future to accommodate up to 500 missionaries.

“These principles are intended to really invite natural light into the spaces,” said Kelly Mills, administrative director of MTCs. “In the middle of all that is this beautiful protected courtyard space that’s protected from the sounds of the street, and it’s just a beautiful outdoor space where missionaries can contemplate and study and be in God’s creations.”

Local visitors were able to tour through the newly completed buildings during an open house that was held August 7–12.

Chief director Adelaide Anno-Kumi of the Ministry of the Interior toured the Ghana Missionary Training Center during the open house on Monday, August 7.

Elder Terence M. Vinson, General Authority Seventy and Africa West Area President, hopes that visitors to the MTC during the open house could “see the effort that the Church makes to help and prepare these young men and women to serve missions, to provide them with opportunities to study the scriptures and to gain a deeper understanding of the doctrines of the Church.”

Many local leaders toured the new facility during the open house. Mohammed Adjei Sowah, the mayor of Accra, said, “The architecture, the landscaping, the organization—everything is done orderly. And once you walk in, you know that you walked into a very disciplined and spiritually filled place that will guide you throughout your tour.”

Nene Sakite II, the Paramount Chief of Manya Krobo, said, “When you get young men and women coming around here, for the teachings, … by the time they leave here, their experience will be certainly good, because of the environment.”

Plans to dedicate the facility are set for October 24, 2017.

“When you come to west Africa, you can’t help but love the people,” said Elder Vinson. “There’s a beauty and a gentleness and a love that comes from the people that is contagious. And as they come here, they’ll feel that, whether they serve here or serve elsewhere in Africa. And that will greatly assist them in terms of the work they do.”

An instructor teaches missionaries in one of 30 classrooms at the new Ghana Missionary Training Center in Accra, Ghana. Missionaries learning to speak French or English stay up to six weeks while those that don’t need to learn a language stay up to three weeks.

An instructor listens to missionaries in one of 30 classrooms at the new Ghana Missionary Training Center in Accra, Ghana. Missionaries learn and study for six hours a day while at the MTC.

Missionaries practice teaching in one of 30 classrooms at the new Ghana Missionary Training Center in Accra. Missionaries spend six hours a day studying while at the MTC.

Missionaries get practical experience in one of several “teaching practice rooms” in the new Ghana Missionary Training Center.

The new Ghana Missionary Training Center in Accra features several quiet study areas with wide, large windows to allow the use of natural light while also allowing missionaries to experience an openness and connection with the surrounding environment.

The interior courtyard of the new Ghana Missionary Training Center in Accra adds to the open design concept to give a connection to the surrounding environment.

Missionaries wash their own laundry at this facility at the new Ghana Missionary Training Center in Accra, Ghana.

No appointments are necessary for missionaries at the barber shop at the new Ghana Missionary Training Center in Accra, Ghana.

The kitchen at the new Ghana Missionary Training Center provides a place for preparing meals for up to 320 missionaries, three times a day in Accra, Ghana.

The cafeteria at the new Ghana Missionary Training Center serves meals for up to 320 missionaries, three times a day in Accra, Ghana.

The Honorable Mayor Adjei Sowah of Accra gets an imaginary haircut in the barber shop of the Ghana Missionary Training Center during the open house on Monday, August 7.

Chief director Adelaide Anno-Kumi (center) of the Ministry of the Interior looks at a hand-carved picture during the Ghana Missionary Training Center open house in Accra on Monday, August 7.

Several members of nobility attended the Ghana Missionary Training Center open house, including the Chief of the La Traditional Council, Nii Kpobi III, on Monday, August 7. It is customary in Africa to cover nobility with an umbrella as they walk.

Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles greets missionary tour guides during the Ghana Missionary Training Center open house in Accra, Ghana, on Monday, August 7.

The interior courtyard of the new Ghana Missionary Training Center in Accra adds to the open design concept to give a connection to the surrounding environment.

The exterior of the new Ghana Missionary Training Center in Accra, Ghana.

Journalists tour the new Ghana Missionary Training Center during the open house in Accra, Ghana, on August 7.

Missionaries exercise for one hour a day in the multipurpose room at the new Ghana Missionary Training Center. They can play basketball and volleyball, jog, or do other physical activities. Large assemblies can also be held in the facility in Accra, Ghana.

The new Ghana Missionary Training Center houses up to 320 missionaries in the six-story residence building. Elders and sisters live on separate floors during their stay in Accra, Ghana.